Reactor core of liquid metal cooled reactor

ABSTRACT

A reactor core is immersed in a liquid metal coolant in a core barrel of a liquid metal cooled reactor. The reactor core includes a plurality of fuel assemblies contained in the core barrel, a neutron absorber that absorbs a neutron in the reactor core, and a neutron moderator that moderates a neutron therein so as to control a reactivity of the reactor core. The neutron absorber and the neutron moderator constitute a mixture contained in reactivity control assemblies of the reactor core in the liquid metal coolant prior to immersion of the reactor core. The neutron moderator is composed of zirconium hydride.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/006,260 (now abandoned) filed Jan. 13, 2011, which is a continuationof U.S. application Ser. No. 12/625,173 (now abandoned) filed Nov. 24,2009, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/270,680 (nowabandoned) filed Nov. 13, 2008, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 11/377,178 (now abandoned) filed Mar. 17, 2006,which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/749,547 filed Dec.28, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,139,352, which claims the benefit ofJapanese Patent Application No. H11-375240 filed Dec. 28, 1999 andJapanese Patent Application No. 2000-049031 filed Feb. 25, 2000. Theentire contents of these applications are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a reactivity control rod for a core. acore of a nuclear. a nuclear reactor and a nuclear power plant.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a reactivity controlrod for a core, which can elongate the lifetime of the core, a core of anuclear reactor composed of the reactivity control rod, which can have along lifetime. A nuclear reactor which is cooled by a liquid metal andis able to reduce scattering of the liquid metal so as to be made into asmall size thereof and a nuclear power plant which comprises the nuclearreactor.

2. Description of the Related Art

A conventional liquid metal: cooled nuclear reactor with a small size.that is, a fast reactor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,897.

Moreover, a conventional fast reactor has a structure for moving aneutron reflector in a vertical direction so as to adjust (control) aleakage of neutron from the core thereof, thus to compensate a change of.reactivity of the core due to a burn-up (combustion) thereof.

In the aforesaid conventional liquid metal cooled nuclear reactors, anintermediate heat exchanger is arranged in a reactor vessel. A primarycoolant performs the heat exchanging operation with a secondary coolantin the intermediate heat exchanger, and the exchanged secondary coolantis circulated to a steam generator arranged outside the reactor vesselso as to generate a steam. Namely, the conventional liquid metal coolednuclear reactor has a structure of requiring a steam generator forgenerating a steam, an electromagnetic pump for circulating a secondarycoolant between the reactor vessel and the steam generator, and pipingequipments connecting them.

An activated liquid metal such as sodium is used as each of thecoolants. For this reason, the reactor vessel and a facility using theliquid metal arranged around the reactor vessel have complicatedstructures, so that there is the possibility that an auxiliary facilityis required in preparation for a leakage of the activated liquid metal,fire caused thereby or the like.

Moreover, in the conventional liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor, theliquid metal which is easily activated, such as sodium is used as thecoolant. That is, in the steam generator, the liquid metal which iseasily activated reacts to water to generate a steam. For this reason,in cases where a water leakage occurs in a heating tube of the steamgenerator, it is difficult to avoid an occurrence of an accident causedby the reaction between the sodium and the leaked water.

The reaction between the sodium and the leaked water causes a reactionproduct, so that, in order to prevent the reaction product from directlybeing radiated, a secondary cooling system facility must be required.

In addition, a facility for housing the reaction product must berequired so that there is the possibility that the reactor system, as awhole, is made into a large size thereof, and that the cost ofmanufacturing the reactor system is made to be increased.

Furthermore, the electromagnetic pump is arranged in a liquid metal;however, it is coaxially arranged in series on a downstream side (lowerside) of the intermediate heat exchanger in view of a heat resistantcharacteristic of a large-sized conductive coil of the electromagneticpump or the like. On the other hand, each of tube plates arranged aboveand below the intermediate heat exchanger has a structure which is easyto receive a thermal stress, and an enlargement of its diameter causesan increase of the thermal stress so that it is taken into considerationto prevent each of the tube plates from being made into a large sizethereof.

As described above, in the conventional liquid metal cooled reactor, theintermediate heat exchanger and the electromagnetic pump are verticallyarranged in series; for this reason, the reactor is made into a largesize thereof in its height direction (in its axial direction).

The reactor with a large size in its axial direction has a structurewhich is easily oscillated, thereby making it unstable.

On the other hand, in a conventional neutron reflector migration type offast reactor, when elongating the lifetime of the core thereof, it mustbe necessary to make long the length of fuel assembly in the core.

That is, according to the progress of combustion of the fuel assembly, areactivity of the fuel assembly becomes negative.

Therefore, in order to offset the negative reactivity, a neutronreflector is left up from a lower portion of the core to cover theheight thereof so as to improve the ability of reflecting neutron,thereby increasing a positive reactivity of the neutron reflector, sothat a reactivity of the whole core of the reactor needs to be set to 0;that is, it is necessary to make the reactor operate so as to keep acombustion in a critical state.

Thus, in order to elongate an operating period of the reactor, a fuellength of the fuel assembly must be made long. Furthermore, in caseswhere the fuel length of the fuel assembly is made long, the reactorvessel of the reactor becomes long as a whole; as a result, there is thepossibility of deteriorating the economics of the reactor. Furthermore,there are problems of causing a change of reactivity by deformation ofthe core in the lifetime thereof the core, an increase of pullout forceof the fuel assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is made in view of the aforesaid problems in therelated art.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide anuclear reactor, which is capable of limiting a space for housing aliquid metal used as a coolant into an inside of a reactor vesselthereof so as to prevent scattering of the coolant to the outsidethereof, whereby it is possible to make simple the whole structure ofthe nuclear reactor with a cooling facility, and to make compact thewhole structure thereof, and to provide a nuclear power plant comprisingthe nuclear reactor.

In order to achieve such object, according to one aspect of the presentinvention, there is provided a nuclear reactor in which a primarycoolant is contained, including: a core composed of nuclear fuel, thecoolant moving upwardly from the core by an operation thereof; anannular steam generator arranged in an upper side of the core into whichthe upwardly moving coolant flows and adapted to transfer heat in thecoolant into water therein to generate a steam; a passage structure thatdefines a coolant passage for the coolant to an outside of the core, theheat-transferred coolant in the annular steam generator flowingdownwardly in the coolant passage so as to flow into the core, therebymoving upwardly; and a reactor vessel arranged to surround the coolantpassage so as to contain the core, the annular steam generator and thecoolant passage therein.

In order to achieve such object, according to another aspect of thepresent invention, there is provided a nuclear power plant comprising anuclear reactor in which a coolant is contained, the nuclear reactorincluding: a core composed of nuclear fuel, the coolant moving upwardlyfrom the core by an operation thereof; an annular steam generator havinga plurality of heat transfer tubes and arranged in an upper side of thecore into which the upwardly moving coolant flows, the annular steamgenerator transferring heat in the coolant with water in the heattransfer tubes to generate a steam; a passage structure that defines acoolant passage for the coolant to an outside of the core, theheat-transferred coolant in the annular steam generator flowingdownwardly in the coolant passage so as to flow into the core, therebymoving upwardly; and a reactor vessel arranged to surround the coolantpassage so as to contain the core, the annular steam generator and thepassage means therein; a feed water branch pipe connecting tocorresponding to heat transfer tubes; a steam branch pipe connecting tocorresponding to heat transfer tubes, the feed water branch pipe and thesteam branch pipe independently penetrating through a reactor containerfacility; a first feed water pipe; a steam pipe, the feed water branchpipe and the steam branch pipe being connected to the first feed waterpipe and the steam pipe outside the reactor container facility,respectively; a steam bypass pipe branching from the steam branch pipeand provided with a steam separator having a bottom portion; an airconditioner provided for the steam separator via a steam facility pipethereof; and a second feed water pipe with a feed-water pump, the bottomportion of the steam separator being connected through the second feedwater pipe to the feed water branch pipe.

In order to achieve such object, according to further aspect of thepresent invention, there is provided a reactivity control rod for use ina reactor core and for controlling a reactivity therein, comprising: atube portion; and a mixture filled in the tube portion, the mixturebeing made by mixing a neutron absorber that absorbs a neutron and aneutron moderator that moderates a neutron.

In order to achieve such object, according to still further aspect ofthe present invention, there is provided a reactor core in a core barrelof a nuclear reactor, comprising: a plurality of fuel assembliescontained in the core barrel; and a mixture contained in the corebarrel, the mixture being made of a neutron absorber that absorbs aneutron in the core and a neutron moderator that moderates a neutrontherein so that a reactivity of the core is controlled.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce a heatvalue dispersed to the outside, thereby improving a heat efficiencythereof, and to make the reactor vessel compact into a small size as awhole, thereby securely preventing a leakage of the liquid metal.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, because the whole ofthe reactor vessel is kept at a suitable temperature, and is protectedfrom a rapid heat transit, it is possible to secure a structural safetyof the reactor, and to make an operation of the reactor for a longperiod. In addition, after a shutdown of the reactor, because a naturalcirculating force generated by heating of the core and radiation fromthe reactor vessel is effectively used, it is possible to stably carryout a decay heat removal operation of the reactor.

Still furthermore, in particular, the shape of the reactor isminiaturized in its longitudinal direction, and therefore, it ispossible to prevent a contact of the liquid metal with the water so asto make an operation of the reactor for a long period.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other principles of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of embodiments of the present invention withreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross sectional view illustrating a liquidmetal cooled nuclear reactor according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along a line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view illustrating a portion B shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view illustrating a portion C shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view illustrating a portion D shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view illustrating the portion B shown in FIG. 1 toexplain an operation when removing decay heat;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view illustrating the portion C shown in FIG. 1 toexplain the operation when removing decay heat;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view illustrating the portion D shown in FIG. 1 toexplain the operation when removing decay heat;

FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 according to a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 according to the secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5 according to the secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 according to the secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a view corresponding to FIG. 7 according to the secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a view corresponding to FIG. 8 according to the secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15A is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15B is an enlarged cross sectional view of a heat transfer tube inFIG. 15A;

FIG. 16 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating a liquid metal cooled reactor accordingto a modification of the third embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a view illustrating a system configuration of a liquid metalcooled nuclear power plant according to a fourth embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 19A is a lateral sectional view illustrating a fast reactoraccording to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19B is a longitudinal sectional view schematically illustrating thefast reactor in FIG. 19A;

FIG. 20 is a lateral sectional view illustrating a reactivity controlassembly in FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B;

FIG. 21 is a characteristic diagram to explain an operation of the fastreactor according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a view illustrating a neutron absorption cross section ofgadolinium according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 23 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a fast reactoraccording to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be describedbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In these embodiments, as one example of a nuclear reactor according tothe present invention, a liquid metal cooled reactor is described

First Embodiment (FIG. 1 to FIG. 8)

A liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor of this first embodiment isgenerally constructed in the following manner.

More specifically, the liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor schematicallycomprises a reactor vessel housing therein a reflector and a neutronshield, and a partition wall structure defining a coolant passagecapable of utilizing a heat generated by these reflector and neutronshield as an output of the reactor.

Furthermore, the liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor comprises anelectromagnetic pump and a steam generator annularly arranged, and theelectromagnetic pump is arranged so as to be included in a downstreamside of the steam generator so that an upper portion of theelectromagnetic pump and a lower portion of the steam generator isoverlapped in the axial direction thereof.

The liquid metal cooling facility including the partition wall structuredeciding the coolant passage, the electromagnetic pump and the steamgenerator and the reactor core are housed in the reactor vessel so as tomake small a heat value dispersed to the outside thereof, therebyimproving a heat efficiency of the reactor core, thus it is capable ofmaking compact the reactor vessel as a whole, thereby reducing thepossibility of leakage can be reduced to the utmost.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a structure of a liquid metal coolednuclear reactor. The liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor 1 has a core 2composed of nuclear fuel assemblies each of which is packed with anuclear fuel, and the core 2 is formed into a substantially cylindricalshape. The outer periphery of the core 2 is surrounded by a core barrel3 for protecting the core 2. An annular reflector 4 is arranged outsideof the core barrel 3 so as to surround the core barrel 3. An innerpartition wall 6 is provided outside the reflector 4. The innerpartition wall 6 surrounds the outer periphery of the reflector 4 so asto define an inner wall of a coolant passage 5 of liquid metal which isused as a primary coolant. An outer partition wall 7 defining an outerwall of the coolant passage 5 is arranged outside the inner partitionwall 6 at a predetermined space. In the coolant passage 5, a neutronshield 8 is disposed so as to surround the core 2. A reactor vessel 9 isprovided outside the outer partition wall 7 so as to house it, andfurther, a guard vessel 10 for protecting the reactor vessel 9 isarranged outside the reactor vessel 9.

The reflector 4 is suspended by a plurality of driving shafts (notshown) penetrating through an upper plug 11, and is supported so as tobe vertically movable by a reflector driving device (not shown). Theinner partition wall 6 is extended upwardly from a base plate 12 onwhich the core 2 is mounted so as to form the annular coolant passage 5between it and the outer partition wall 7, in which the neutron shield 8is disposed.

In the coolant passage 5 above the disposed neutron shield 8, anelectromagnetic pump 13 and a steam generator 14 are annularly arranged,and the electromagnetic pump 13 is arranged so as to be included in adownstream side of the steam generator 14 so that an upper portion ofthe electromagnetic pump and a lower portion of the steam generator isoverlapped in the axial direction thereof.

The steam generator 14 has a shell side through which the liquid metal,which is a primary coolant, flows, and a tube side including a pluralityof heat transfer tubes 16 through which water, which is a secondarycoolant, flow so that a heat exchange is performed via walls of the heattransfer tubes 16 in the steam generator 14.

The steam generator 14 and the electromagnetic pump 13 are arranged sothat a predetermined space as a part of the coolant passage 5 is formedbetween an inner periphery of the steam generator 14 and an outerperiphery of the electromagnetic pump 13, whereby the primary coolantdischarged from a lower end portion of the steam generator 14 is suckedfrom the upper end portion of the electromagnetic pump 13 via the formedpart of the coolant passage 5.

FIG. 2 is the lateral sectional view taken along a line II-II shown inFIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the core 2 is formed into a shape of circle in itslateral cross section, and the core barrel 3 is provided outside thecore 2. Moreover, the reflector 4 comprises several split cylindricalelements each having both end surfaces, which are annularly arrangedoutside the core barrel 3 with the adjacent end surfaces of the adjacentcylindrical elements jointed to each other. The inner partition wall 6is arranged outside the reflector 4. In this case, the end surfaces ofthe several split cylindrical elements extend over the entire length ofthe reflector 4 in the longitudinal direction thereof.

In this embodiment, for example, the reflector 4 is divided into sixcylindrical elements which are suspended by the driving shafts (notshown) so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction thereof withoutinterference with each other. In FIG. 2, the neutron shield 8 comprisesa plurality of cylinders 21 annularly arranged to be spaced out eachother, and the cylinders 21 are arranged outside the outer periphery ofthe inner partition wall 6.

In this first embodiment, six driving shafts (not shown) suspending thesix divided cylindrical elements are arranged at a position equallyseparated from the center axis of the reactor vessel 9.

The electromagnetic pump 13 is arranged outside the driving shaft abovethe core 2 via the inner partition wall 6, shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore,the steam generator 14 is arranged outside the electromagnetic pump 13via an outer shell 22 of the electromagnetic pump 13 and the coolantpassage 5 for the primary coolant. The steam generator 14 has an innershell 23 arranged outside the outer shell 22 of the electromagnetic pump22 so as to surround the upper portion of the inner shell 22 thereof, anouter shell 24 arranged outside the inner shell 23 at a predeterminedspace so as to surround the inner shell 23, and the heat transfer tubes16 arranged between the inner shell 23 and the outer shell 24.

Still furthermore, the reactor core 1 comprises an inlet nozzle 18 whichis mounted on the upper side of the reactor vessel 9 so as to bepenetrated in sealed state therethrough, and an outlet nozzle 19 whichis mounted on the-upper side of the reactor vessel 9 so as to bepenetrated in sealed state therethrough.

Next, the following is a description on an operation of the liquid metalcooled nuclear reactor 1 according to the first embodiment.

In the liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor 1, the core 2 uses thenuclear fuel containing plutonium or the like, and, in the actualoperation of the reactor 1, the nuclear fuel including the plutonium orthe like is split to generate heat, and, simultaneously, to causeexcessive fast neutrons to be absorbed in depleted uranium, therebygenerating plutonium on an amount equally to that to be burned up. Thereflector 4 reflects the neutrons irradiated from the core 2 to therebyfacilitate burn-up and breeding of the nuclear fuel in the core 2.

With the burn-up of the nuclear fuel, the reflector 4 is gradually movedvertically in the axial direction of the core 2, while maintaining thecriticality of the nuclear fuel.

According to the vertical movement of the reflector 4, a new portion ofthe fuel in the core 2 is then gradually burned up, and thus keeping anoperation of the reactor 1 for a long period with the burn-upmaintained.

In the operation of the reactor 1, the reactor vessel 9 is filled with aliquid metal, which is a primary coolant, and the core 2 is cooled bythe primary coolant while taking, the outside of the core 2, heatgenerated by the nuclear fission therein. In FIG. 1, solid line arrow“a” of a solid line shows a flowing direction of the primary coolant. Asshown by these solid line arrows, the primary coolant moves downward bythe operation of the electromagnetic pump 13, and then, flows downwardlythrough the inside of the neutron shield 8 so as to enter into thebottom portion of the reactor vessel 9. Therefore, since the primarycoolant flows through the inside of the neutron shield 8, it is possibleto effectively cool the neutron shield 8.

Next, the primary coolant moves upwardly while flowing through the core2 and being heated therein, and after that, flows into the shell side ofthe steam generator 14 at the upper portion of the reactor vessel 9.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, water used as a secondary coolantflows into the tube side of the steam generator 14. In detail, the waterflowing via the inlet nozzle 18 enters into downcomer tubes 16 a in theheat transfer tubes 16 to flow downwardly in the axial directionthereof.

Then, the water enters into a tube side, that is, heat transfer tubes(riser tubes) 16 b which are arranged in layers to flow upwardly throughthe heat transfer tubes 16 b in the axial direction thereof.

Therefore, the primary coolant flows upwardly through the shell side ofthe steam generator 14 and the water flows upwardly through the tubeside (heat transfer tubes 16 b) thereof so that heat in the primarycoolant is transferred into the water in the steam generator 14, andthereafter, is discharged from the lower end portion thereof.

The discharged primary coolant passes through the coolant passage 5 onthe lower side of the steam generator 14 to enter into the coolantpassage 5 formed as the space between the inner periphery 23 of thesteam generator 14 and the outer periphery 22 of the electromagneticpump 13, thereby moving upwardly along the coolant passage 5.

The primary coolant flowing out from the coolant passage 5 is suckedfrom the upper end portion of the electromagnetic pump 13 via theprimary coolant passage 5 formed on the upper side thereof, and is againmoved downwardly by the operation of the electromagnetic pump 13.

On the other hand, after the water is heated by the primary coolant inthe -heat transfer tubes 16 b of the steam generator 14, the waterflowing through the outlet nozzle 19 flows out, as a steam, to theoutside of the nuclear reactor 1 (reactor vessel 9) so that a thermalpower that the steam has is converted into an electric power or thelike.

In this first embodiment, a decay heat after the shutdown of the reactor1 is passed through the steam generator 14 via a turbine bypass systemto be removed by a condenser and a natural radiation of the reactor 1.

As described above, according to the liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor1 of this first embodiment, the all elements required for cooling thecore 2 by using the liquid metal, such as the core reactor barrel 3, thereflector 4, the partition wall structure having the inner partitionwall 6 and the outer partition wall 7, the neutron shield 8, theelectromagnetic pump 13 and the steam generator 14 are contained in thereactor vessel 9. Therefore, it is possible to make small a heat valuedispersed to the outside of the reactor 1, thereby improving the heatefficiency thereof.

Furthermore, according to the liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor 1 ofthis first embodiment, it is possible to make compact the whole size ofthe reactor vessel 9, thereby reducing a possibility of leaking theliquid metal from the reactor vessel 9.

Still furthermore, according to the nuclear reactor 1, because the steamgenerator 14 is provided in the reactor vessel 9 without providingtherein an intermediate heat exchanger, it is also possible to makereduce the scale of the power plant (reactor system) using the nuclearreactor 1, and to reduce the cost of manufacturing the reactor system(power plant).

In addition, according to the nuclear reactor 1 according to the firstembodiment, because the electromagnetic pump 13 is arranged so as to beincluded in the downstream side of the steam generator 14 so that theupper portion of the electromagnetic pump 13 and the lower portion ofthe steam generator 14 is overlapped in the axial direction thereof, ascompared with the conventional liquid metal cooled reactor having thestructure that the intermediate heat exchanger and the electromagneticpump are vertically arranged in series, it is possible to make small thelength of the reactor 1 in the axial direction thereof so as to preventthe reactor 1 from being oscillated, thereby making the reactor 1stable.

Next, the following is a description on the details of the liquid metalcooled nuclear reactor 1 of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the steam generator 14 and the electromagnetic pump13 are constructed integrally with an upper structural member 15 of thereactor 1. The upper structural member 15 is used for suspending thesteam generator 14 and the electromagnetic pump 13 together. The outershell 24 of the steam generator 14 forms an outer shroud of thestructural member 15. A seal structural member 17 comprising a pistonring or the like is interposed between the upper end portion of theinner partition wall 6 and the lower end portion of the electromagneticpump 13. The seal structural member 17 is adapted to absorb expansionand shrinkage of the liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor 1 due to heatgenerated thereby so as to define the coolant passage 5.

Moreover, the upper structural member 15 has a structure of integrallysuspending the steam generator 14 and the electromagnetic pump 13. Theexpansion and shrinkage of the upper structural member 15 by thermalexpansion with the operation of reactor 1 is absorbed by the sealstructural member 17. A structural portion for supporting the core 2 isprovided at the bottom portion of the reactor vessel 9 via the baseplate 12, and the expansion and shrinkage of the reactor vessel 9 andthe core 2 by heat is absorbed by the seal structural member 17.

As a result, it is possible to disperse a weight loaded onto the reactorvessel 9. Moreover, the upper portion of the core 2 is a hollow space sothat it is possible to perform a work of exchanging the core 2 withoutremoving the electromagnetic pump 13 and the steam generator 14.

Therefore, according to the first embodiment, in addition to the effectfor making compact the reactor vessel 9 into a small size, it ispossible to perform the work of exchanging the core 2 without removingthe electromagnetic pump 13 and the steam generator 14. Moreover, theupper structural member 15 is provided for the reactor vessel 9 so thatthe upper structural member 15, the electromagnetic pump 13 and thesteam generator 14 are permitted to be integrally removed therefrom,making it possible to improve the transportation and the installation ofthe reactor vessel 9.

Subsequently, the liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor 1 will be moredetailedly explained below with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 5. FIG. 3,FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are enlarged views of the portions B, C and D shown inFIG. 1, respectively. Especially, FIG. 3 illustrates a state of a liquidsurface of the primary coolant contained in the reactor vessel 9 whenthe reactor 1 is operated. In FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a solid linearrow “as” shows a flowing direction of the primary coolant when thereactor 1 is operated in the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of bypass passages 26 are formed on thestructural portion supporting the base plate 12 on which the core 2 isplaced, at the lower portion of the reactor vessel 9. These bypasspassages 26 communicate with an annular space defined between the outerpartition wall 7 and the reactor vessel 9, and the upper end portion ofthe outer partition wall 7 is opened in the upper space of the reactorvessel 9.

As shown by these arrows “a”, the primary coolant moves downward by theoperation of the electromagnetic pump 13, and then, flows downwardlythrough the inside of the neutron shield 8 so as to enter into thebottom portion of the reactor vessel 9.

Next, most of the primary coolant is moved upwardly while flowingthrough the core 2 and being heated therein, and after that, flows intothe shell side of the steam generator 14 at the upper portion of thereactor vessel 9.

On the other hand, a part of the primary coolant flows into the annularspace between the reactor vessel 9 and the outer partition wall 7 viathe plurality of bypass passages 26 formed on the structural portionsupporting the base plate 12, as shown in FIG. 5. The primary coolantmoving up via the annular space flows over the upper end portion of theouter partition wall 7 to invert thereat, as shown in FIG. 3, and then,flows into an annular space formed between the outer partition wall 7and the outer shell 24 of the steam generator 14. Because the primarycoolant is in a low temperature state before flowing into the core 2,and is moved upwardly while cooling the whole of the reactor vessel 9,it is possible to keep, by securing a flow rate of the primary coolant,a wall surface of the reactor vessel 9 at a low temperature.

Therefore, according to the first embodiment, in the operation of thereactor 1, the whole of the reactor vessel 9 is maintained at a lowtemperature, and thereby, it is possible to secure a structural safetyof the reactor vessel 9, and to make an operation for a long periodwhile reducing a possibility of leaking a liquid metal.

Next, a decay heat removal operation will be described below withreference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 8. FIG. 6, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 arecorrespondent to FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, respectively. In FIG. 3,FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the solid line arrows “a” show flowing directions ofthe primary coolant when removing a decay heat in this first embodiment,and broken line arrows “b” show flowing directions of air which flows inthe reactor 1 through an inlet port to flow out from an outlet port.

As shown in FIG. 6, the steam generator 14 has an intermediate shell 25arranged between the inner shell 23 and the outer shell 24 forpartitioning heat exchange portions (the heat transfer tubes 16 b) anddowncomer portions (the downcomer tubes 16 a). An upper end portion ofthe intermediate shell 25 is projected to have a height which is higherthan a liquid surface of the primary coolant in the reactor vessel 9 ina normal operation of the reactor 1.

The outer shell 24 is formed with an opening portion (outer shellopening portion) 27 at a position higher than the liquid surface of thereactor vessel 9 in the normal operation of the reactor 1. Moreover, anair duct 28 is arranged to surround the outer periphery of the guardvessel 10 at a predetermined space.

Moreover, the inner shell 23 of the steam generator 14 is formed at itsa predetermined portion with an opening window 23 a, and thepredetermined portion of the opening window 23 a is lower than theposition of the opening portion 27 of the intermediate shall 25.

In the operation of the reactor 1 shown in FIG. 3, the primary coolantheated by the core 2 flows upwardly through the upper portion of thereactor vessel 9 into the shell side of the steam generator 14. When theprimary coolant flows in the shell side thereof, a liquid surface on theshell side of the steam generator 14 is the same as the liquid surfaceof the reactor vessel 9 on the assumption that a pressure loss of theopening window 23 a may be ignored. The upper end portion of theintermediate shell 25 is projected to have the height which is higherthan the liquid surface of the reactor vessel 9 in the normal operationof the reactor 1 so that it is possible to prevent the primary coolantfrom flowing into the downcomer tubes 16 a in the heat transfer tubes16, which are formed between the intermediate shell 25 and the outershell 24, thereby preventing a reduction of heat efficiency of the steamgenerator 14.

On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 6, in an operation of the reactor 1when removing a decay heat, the liquid metal used as the primary coolantis expanded in its volume by a rise of its temperature so that theprimary coolant flows over from the upper end portion of theintermediate shell 25 to flow into the annular space formed between thereactor vessel 9 and the outer partition wall 7 via the opening portion27 formed in the outer shell 24. The primary coolant flows down throughthe annular space formed between the reactor vessel 9 and the outerpartition wall 7, while, simultaneously, making a heat exchange with theair, shown by the arrow “b”, moving upwardly through the annular spaceformed between the guard vessel 10 and its outer periphery of the airduct 28 via a wall surface of the reactor vessel 9 and the wall surfaceof the guard vessel 10.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the primary coolant flows into thebottom portion of the reactor vessel 9 via the plurality of bypasspassages 26 formed at the structural portion supporting the base plate12 for placing the core 2. The primary coolant flowing into the bottomportion of the reactor vessel 9 and having a low temperature is suckedby a natural circulating force based on the heating in the core 2 so asto flow thereinto.

Therefore, in the first embodiment, in the normal operation of thereactor 1, it is possible to highly maintain the heat efficiency of thesteam generator 14, and in addition to the effect, after the shutdown ofthe reactor 1, it is possible to perform the operation of the reactor 1when removing the decay heat by effectively using a natural circulatingforce caused by a heat generated in the core 2 and a radiation from thewall surface of the reactor vessel 9. Therefore, it is able to surelyperform the removal of decay heat in the reactor 1 itself, making itpossible to secure a structural safety of the reactor vessel 9, to makean operation of the reactor 1 for a long period while eliminating aprobability of leaking the liquid metal.

Second Embodiment (FIG. 9 to FIG. 14)

FIG. 9 to FIG. 14 illustrate a second embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 9, FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are correspondent to FIG. 3, FIG.4 and FIG. 5, respectively, which show a state of a liquid surface and aflow of primary coolant in an operation of the reactor. FIG. 12, FIG. 13and FIG. 14 are correspondent to FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5,respectively, and show an operation in the removal of decay heat. InFIG. 9 to FIG. 14, solid line arrows “a” show flowing directions of theprimary coolant, and broken lines arrow “b” show flowing directions ofair.

A liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor 1A of this second embodiment hasbasically the same structure as that of the above first embodiment andtherefore, the overlapping explanation is omitted with reference to FIG.1 and FIG. 2.

In this second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 14, no bypasspassage of the first embodiment is formed on a structural portionsupporting the base plate 12 placing the core 2 at the lower portion ofthe reactor vessel 9. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG.13, the outer partition wall 7 is formed with a plurality of openingportions 29 in the vicinity of an outlet bottom portion 14 a of thesteam generator 14.

According to the above structure of the reactor 1A, in the normaloperation of the reactor 1A, as shown by the arrows “a” in FIG. 9 toFIG. 11, the primary coolant moves downward by the operation of theelectromagnetic pump 13, and then, flows downwardly through the insideof the neutron shield 8 so as to enter into the bottom portion of thereactor vessel 9. Next, the primary coolant moves upwardly while flowingthrough the core 2 and being heated therein, and after that, flows intothe shell side of the steam generator 14 at the upper portion of thereactor vessel 9.

On the assumption that a pressure loss is ignored at the portion of theopening window 23 a in the inner shell 23 of the steam generator 14, aliquid surface of the liquid metal in the steam generator 9 is the sameas that in the reactor vessel 9.

On the other hand, each liquid surface of the space between theintermediate shell 25 of the steam generator 14 and the outer shell 24thereof, the space between the outer shell 24 and the outer partitionwall 7, and the space between the outer partition wall 7 and the reactorvessel 9, is as follows.

More specifically, each liquid surface of these spaces is lower than theliquid surface of the reactor vessel 9 by the pressure loss on the shellside of the steam generator 14 in the normal operation, and becomes thesame liquid level.

Each primary coolant in the space between the intermediate shell 25 andthe outer shell 24, the space between the outer shell 24 and the outerpartition wall 7, and the space between the outer partition wall 7 andthe reactor vessel 9, is as follows. More specifically, in the normaloperation of the reactor 1A, the primary coolant in each space gets tobe an equilibrium temperature state by heat balance of an heat inputfrom the inside of the reactor vessel 9 and a heat radiation to the airside via the reactor vessel 9 and the guard vessel 10.

As a result, it is possible to protect a wall surface of the reactorvessel 9 from a rapid heat transit by a change of operating mode of thereactor 1A.

Moreover, in the operation of the reactor 1A while removing decay heat,as shown by the arrows “a” in FIG. 12 to FIG. 14, the primary coolantflows over from the upper end portion of the intermediate shell 25 dueto a volume expansion of the liquid metal by the rise of its temperatureso that the primary coolant flows into the annular space formed betweenthe reactor vessel 9 and the outer partition wall 7 via the openingportion 27 formed in the outer shell 24. The primary coolant gets tohave a high temperature by a decay heat of the core 2, and then, flowsinto the annular space formed between the reactor vessel 9 and the outerpartition wall 7, while, as shown by the arrow “b” in FIG. 14, making aheat exchange with the air moving upwardly through the annular spaceformed between the guard vessel 10 and the air duct 28 surrounding theouter periphery thereof via the wall surface of the reactor vessel 9 andthe wall surface of the guard vessel 10.

Thereafter, the primary coolant flows into the coolant passage 5 at thebottom portion of the steam generator 14 via the opening portions 29formed in the outer partition wall 7 in the vicinity of the bottomportion on the outlet of the steam generator 14. Namely, the primarycoolant flowing into the coolant passage 5 contributes mainly to theremoval of decay heat in the wall surface of the reactor vessel 9positioning on the outer peripheral portion of the steam generator 14.

After passing through the coolant passage 5 at the bottom portion of thesteam generator 14, the primary coolant is moved upwardly along anelongated portion of the coolant passage 5 formed as the space betweenthe inner peripheral portion of the inner shell 23 of the steamgenerator 14 and the outer peripheral portion of the outer shell of theelectromagnetic pump 13. Then, the primary coolant is sucked from theupper end portion of the electromagnetic pump 13 via the primary coolantpassage 5 formed at the upper portion of the electromagnetic pump 13 soas to flow through the electromagnetic pump 13, thus to be guideddownwardly. Furthermore, the primary coolant passing through the neutronshield 8 to flow into the bottom portion of the reactor vessel 9, whichhas a low temperature, is sucked by a natural circulating force based onheat generation in the core 2 to flow thereinto.

As described above, according to this second embodiment, it is possibleto protect the wall surface of the reactor vessel 9 from a rapid heattransit by a change of the operation mode of the reactor 1A, and tosecure a structural safety of the reactor vessel 9, to make an operationof the reactor 1A for a long period while eliminating a probability ofleaking the liquid metal.

Incidentally, in this second embodiment, various modifications may bemade. For example, the outer partition wall 7 shown in FIG. 9 to FIG. 11may have a structure of removing the upper portion thereof from thevicinity of the bottom portion on the outlet of the steam generator 14,or may have a structure of forming no opening portion 29 of the outerpartition wall 7.

According to the above structures of the modifications, in the normaloperation of the reactor according to the modifications, the primarycoolant moves downward by the operation of the electromagnetic pump 13,and then, flows downwardly through the inside of the neutron shield 8 soas to enter into the bottom portion of the reactor vessel 9. Next, theprimary coolant moves upwardly while flowing through the core 2 andbeing heated therein, and after that, flows into the shell side of thesteam generator 14 at the upper portion of the reactor vessel 9.

Each primary coolant in the space between the intermediate shell 25 andthe outer shell 24, the space between the outer shell 24 and the outerpartition wall 7, and the space between the outer partition wall 7 andthe reactor vessel 9, gets to be an equilibrium temperature state byheat balance of an heat input from the inside of the reactor vessel 9and a heat radiation to the air side via the reactor vessel 9 and theguard vessel 10. Furthermore, the primary coolant existing in the spacebetween the intermediate shell 25 of the steam generator 14 and theouter shell 24 thereof merely receives an influence by the temperatureof the downcomer tubes 16 a, that is, a temperature of the watersupplied to the downcomer tubes 16 a so that the wall surface of thereactor vessel 9 is maintained at a relatively low temperature, andtherefore, it is possible to protect a wall surface of the reactorvessel 9 from a rapid heat transit by a change of the operating mode ofthe reactor.

On the other hand, in the operation of the reactor while removing decayheat, according to the modification, the primary coolant flows over fromthe upper end portion of the intermediate shell 25 due to a volumeexpansion of the liquid metal by the rise of its temperature so that theprimary coolant flows into the annular space formed between the reactorvessel 9 and the outer partition wall 7 via the opening portion 27formed in the outer shell 24. The primary coolant gets to have a hightemperature by a decay heat of the core 2, and then, flows into theannular space formed between the reactor vessel 9 and the outer shell24, while making a heat exchange with the air moving upwardly throughthe annular space formed between the guard vessel 10 and the air duct 28surrounding the outer periphery thereof via the wall surface of thereactor vessel 9 and the wall surface of the guard vessel 10.

After passing through the coolant passage 5 at the bottom portion of thesteam generator 14, the primary coolant is moved upwardly along anelongated portion of the coolant passage 5 formed as the space betweenthe inner peripheral portion of the inner shell 23 of the steamgenerator 14 and the outer peripheral portion of the outer shell of theelectromagnetic pump 13. Then, the primary coolant is sucked from theupper end portion of the electromagnetic pump 13 via the primary coolantpassage 5 formed at the upper portion of the electromagnetic pump 13 soas to flow through the electromagnetic pump 13, thus to be guideddownwardly. Furthermore, the primary coolant passing through the neutronshield 8 to flow into the bottom portion of the reactor vessel 9, whichhas a low temperature, is sucked by a natural circulating force based onheat generation in the core 2 to flow thereinto.

As described above, according to the modifications of the secondembodiment, it is possible to reasonably protect the wall surface of thereactor vessel 9 from a rapid heat transit by a change of the operationmode of the reactor, and to secure a structural safety of the reactorvessel 9, to make an operation of the reactor for a long period whileeliminating a probability of leaking the liquid metal.

Third Embodiment (FIGS. 15A, 15B and FIG. 16)

FIGS. 15A, 15B and FIG. 16 show a third embodiment of the presentinvention. These FIGS. 15A, 15B and FIG. 16 are correspondent to FIG. 3and FIG. 4 as described before, respectively, and show a liquid surfacestate and a flow of primary coolant in an operation of reactor. In FIG.15A and FIG. 16, arrows “a” show flowing directions of the primarycoolant. A liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor 1B of this thirdembodiment basically has the same structure as that of the above firstembodiment, and therefore, overlapping explanation is omitted withreference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

The liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor 1B of this third embodimentdiffers from the above first embodiment in that the steam generator 14is provided with an opening portion 44 of the inner shell 23 of thesteam generator 14, which communicates with a cover gas space 45 of thereactor vessel 9, and is located at the upper portion from the liquidsurface of the reactor vessel 9. Moreover, in this third embodiment,each of the heating tubes 16 of the steam generator 14 has a double pipestructure provided with an inner tube 16S and an outer tube 16Tsurrounding an outer periphery of the inner tube 16S, as shown in FIG.15B.

In addition, the reactor 1B comprises a continuous leakage monitoringunit 46 that detects a leakage in both outer and inner tubes 16T and16S. If a large-scale water leakage occurs in a liquid metal bysimultaneous breakdown of the double tubes, a water vapor or bubble ofthe reaction product caused by contacting the liquid metal with thewater is transferred to the surroundings from the leakage portion. Inthis case, in the heat exchange portion, a gas transferred upwardly fromthe leakage portion flows to a cover gas space of the steam generator14. On the other hand, a gas transferred downwardly from there flowsthrough each liquid surface of the space between the intermediate shell25 and the outer shell 24 and the space between the outer shell 24 andthe reactor vessel 9 to the cover gas space of the steam generator 14.

At that time, the opening portion 44 of the inner shell 23 operates sothat the cover gas space 45 of the reactor vessel 9 communicates withthe cover gas space of the steam generator 14. Therefore, the watervapor or bubble of the reaction product by the large-scale water leakagegenerated in the liquid metal is all guided to the cover gas space 45 ofthe reactor vessel 9 through the opening portion 44.

In this third embodiment, even if a large-scale water leakage occurs inthe heating tube 16 of the steam generator 14, it is possible tomaintain a safety of the reactor 1B without mixing the bubble into thecore 2.

Incidentally, in the third embodiment, partial modification may be made.For example, as shown in FIG. 16, the lower end portion 23 b of theinner shell 23 of the steam generator 14 in the reactor 1C may bearranged at a position lower than the lower end portion 24 a of theouter shell 24 thereof and the lower end portion 25 a of theintermediate shell 25 in the primary coolant outlet portion of the steamgenerator 14.

According to the above construction of the modification, if alarge-scale water leakage occurs, because the lower end portion 23 b ofthe steam generator inner shell 23 in the primary coolant outlet portionof the steam generator 14 is arranged at the position lower than thelower end portion 25 a of the intermediate shell 25 and the lower endportion 24 a of the outer shell 24, a gas transferred downwardly ofwater vapor or reaction product generated by the leakage selectivelyflows to the upper cover gas space of the steam generator 14 via eachliquid surface of the space between the intermediate shell 25 and theouter shell 24 and the space between the outer shell 24 and the reactorvessel 9.

Moreover, the opening portion 44 of the steam generator 23 operates sothat the cover has space 45 of the reactor vessel 9 communicates withthe cover gas space of the steam generator 14, whereby the water vaporor bubble of the reaction product by the large-scale water leakagegenerated in the liquid metal is all guided to the cover gas space 45 ofthe reactor vessel 9.

In this modification of the third embodiment, even if a large-scalewater leakage occurs in the heating tube 16 of the steam generator 14,it is possible to maintain a safety of the reactor 1C without mixingbubble into the core 2.

Furthermore, in this third embodiment, another modification with aconstruction may be made. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 17, thereactor 1D comprises a detecting unit 47 that detects a peculiar changein flow rate generated due to a pressure rise of the shell side of thesteam generator 14 by using a change in a current of the electromagneticpump 13. In addition, the reactor comprises an operation control unit 48that performs a control for stopping the operation of theelectromagnetic pump 13 by a detected signal outputted from thedetecting unit 47. In addition, the lower end portion 23 b of the steamgenerator inner shell 23 is arranged at a position lower than the lowerend portion 24 a of the outer shell 24 and the lower end portion 25 a ofthe intermediate shell 25.

According to the above construction of the reactor 1D in the anothermodification, the following operation is carried out. That is, if awater vapor or reaction product gas is generated in the steam generator14 by a large-scale water leakage, the pressure rise brings about achange in a flow rate of the primary coolant in the steam generator 14.The change in the flow rate of the primary coolant in theelectromagnetic pump 13 is detected by the detecting unit 47 via theoutlet portion of the steam generator 14 and the coolant passage 5, andthen, the electromagnetic pump 13 stopped by the control of theoperation unit 47 and, after that, the electromagnetic pump 13 is againoperated. In this case, a gas transferred downwardly in the steamgenerator 14 is transferred selectively to the upward cover gas spacethereof via each liquid surface of the space between the intermediateshell 25 and the outer shell 24 and the space between the outer shell 24and the reactor vessel 9.

Because the lower end portion 23 b of the steam generator inner shell 23is arranged at the position lower than the lower end portion 25 a of theintermediate shell 25 and the lower end portion 24 a of the outer shell24.

Moreover, the opening portion 44 of the steam generator 23 operates sothat the reactor vessel 9 communicates with the cover gas space 45 ofthe steam generator 14. Therefore, the water vapor or bubble of thereaction product by the large-scale water leakage generated in theliquid metal is all guided to the cover gas space 45 of the reactorvessel 9 so that, even if a large-scale water leakage occurs in theheating tube 16 of the steam generator 14, it is possible to maintain asafety of the reactor 1D without mixing a bubble into the core 2.

Moreover, another construction of a further modification according tothe third embodiment may be made according to the present invention.

For example, the outer tube 16T is arranged at a gap to the outerperiphery of the inner tube 16S so that an inert gas such as helium orthe like is sealed in the gap. Furthermore, in order to detect a leakagein both inner and outer tubes 16S and 16T, a continuous leakagemonitoring unit such as a helium pressure gage, a moisture contentconcentration monitor or the like, is provided for the reactor accordingto the modification.

According to the above construction of the reactor in the furthermodification, the heating tube 16 has a double tube structure, and thecontinuous leakage monitoring unit detects a leakage in both inner andouter tubes 16S and 16T by the inert gas such as helium or the likesealed in the gap between the inner and outer tubes 16S and 16T so thatit is possible to securely prevent a contact of the water in the tubes16S and 16T with the liquid metal of the shell side of the steamgenerator 14. Accordingly, with the above construction, because ofpreventing the water from contacting the liquid metal, it is possible tomake a stable operation of the reactor for a long period.

Fourth Embodiment (FIG. 18)

FIG. 18 illustrates a liquid metal cooled nuclear power plant accordingto a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

According to the fourth embodiment, a liquid metal cooled nuclearreactor 1E basically has the same structure as that described in the oneof the above embodiments, and therefore, only different points will bedescribed below.

In the liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor 1E of this fourth embodiment,the heat transfer tube 16 of the steam generator 14 shown in FIG. 3 hasa double tube structure, as shown in FIG. 15B, and each of the heattransfer tubes 16 is arranged to be formed into a substantially helicalshape in the heat exchange portion, in contrast with the above firstembodiment. Moreover, an inert gas such as helium or the like is sealedin the space between the inner and outer tubes, and the reactor 1E isprovided with a continuous leakage monitoring unit, such as a heliumpressure gage, a moisture content concentration monitor, in order todetect a leakage in both inner and outer tubes, similarly to the furthermodification of the third embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 18, the heat transfer tube 16 of the steam generator 14is divided into a plurality of heating tube groups, and each heatingtube group is connected so as to correspond to feed water and steambranch pipes. A feed water branch pipe 30 and a steam branch pipe 31penetrate through a reactor container facility 32 independently fromeach other, and are connected with a feed water pipe 33 and a main steampipe 34 outside the reactor container facility 32, respectively.

Moreover, in the liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor 1E of this fourthembodiment, a steam separator 35 is provided via a main steam bypasspipe 37 branching from the steam branch pipe 31. The steam separator 35is provided with an air condenser 36 via a steam auxiliary facility pipe38. In addition, an auxiliary feed water pipe 39 and an auxiliary feedwater pump 40 are provided as a return line to the feed-water side ofthe steam separator 35.

According to the above construction of the fourth embodiment, in anormal operation of the reactor 1E, water flows into the feed waterbranching pipe 30 branching and separating from the feed water pipe 33.Then, the water flows into each of the heat transfer tubes 16 of thesteam generator 14 in the reactor container facility 32, and thereafter,is heated in the heat exchange portion of each of the heat transfertubes 16 so as to generate a steam. The steam generated in each of theheat transfer tubes 16 flows into the steam branching pipe 31 togetherwith a steam of the identical heat transfer tube group, and passesthrough the reactor container facility 32. Thereafter, the steam joinswith a steam from the steam branching pipe 31 of another group in themain steam pipe 34, and then, reaches a turbine 41.

In the operation while removing decay heat after stopping the reactor 1Eof the fourth embodiment, a steam heated by a decay heat of the reactor1E flows into the steam branching pipe 31, and passes through thereactor container facility 32. Thereafter, the steam joins with a steamfrom the steam branching pipe 31 of another group in the main steam pipe34, and then, reaches a condenser 42 by controlling a valve via aturbine bypass pipe 43. Further, when the steam decreases, the mainsteam pipe 34 and the turbine bypass pipe 43 are both isolated, andthen, the heat of the steam is removed by the air condenser 36 via thesteam separator 35 and the steam auxiliary facility pipe 38. In thiscase, the water condensed by the air condenser 36 passes through thesteam separator 35, and then, is driven by the auxiliary feed water pump40 so as to flow into the feed water branching pipe 30 via the auxiliaryfeed water pipe 39 and return to a feed-water side of the steamgenerator 14. In this manner, according to this fourth embodiment, it ispossible to improve a reliability of the decay heat removal operationafter a shutdown of the reactor 1E.

Therefore, in the nuclear power plant of this fourth embodiment, theheating tube 16 of the steam generator 14 has a double tube structure,and the continuous leakage monitoring unit detects a leakage in bothinner and outer tubes of each of the heat transfer tubes. Furthermore,the heating tubes 16 of the steam generator 14 are divided into aplurality of heating tube groups, and the auxiliary cooling aircondenser 42 is arranged so as to be independently and correspondinglyconnected to these heating groups. Therefore, it is possible to securelyprevent a contact of the liquid metal with the water, thus making astable operation of the reactor 1E for a long period.

In addition, even if a failure occurs in one heating tube group or thelike, the operation of removing the decay heat of the reactor 1E after ashutdown thereof can be made by other heating tube having no failure andthe auxiliary cooling air condenser 42.

As a result, even in the case where the decay heat removal operationafter a shutdown of the reactor 1E is not made by the auxiliary coolingair condenser 42, a decay heat can be removed by an operation using aheat radiation via the wall surface of the reactor vessel 9 and anatural circulating force of the primary coolant. Therefore, it ispossible to secure a structural safety, and to make an operation of thereactor 1E for a long period, and further, to reduce a possibility ofleakage of the liquid metal.

Moreover, in this fourth embodiment, the heating tube 16 of the steamgenerator 14 has a double tube structure, and each heating tube 16 isformed into a helical shape in the heat exchange portion. Therefore, itis possible to arbitrarily set a dimension of the innermost layerheating tube array, and to readily provide a structure in which theelectromagnetic pump 13 is housed inside the steam generator 14. Inaddition, each heating tube 16 has a double tube structure; therefore,it is possible to reduce a chance of contacting the water in the pipewith the liquid metal on the shell side of the steam generator 14.

Accordingly, in the liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor of this fourthembodiment and the nuclear power plant using the same reactor 1E, it ispossible to miniaturize the reactor in its shape, in particular, in itslongitudinal direction (axial direction). Further, it is possible tosecurely prevent a contact of liquid metal with water, and thus to makea stable operation of the reactor for a long period.

Incidentally, in this fourth embodiment, another modifications may bemade. More specifically, the heating tube 16 of the steam generator 14has a single tube structure, and each heating tube 16 is formed into ahelical shape in the heat exchange portion. Further, the primary coolantis a liquid metal made of a heavy metal such as lead, lead bismuth orthe like. Furthermore, the heating tube 16 of the steam generator 14 isdivided into a plurality of heating tube groups, and each heating tubegroup is connected so as to correspond to feed water and steam branchingpipes. The feed water branch pipe 30 and the steam branch pipe 31penetrate through a reactor container facility 32 independently fromeach other, and are connected with the feed water pipe 33 and the mainsteam pipe 34 outside the reactor container facility 32, respectively.

According to the above construction, although the heating tube 16 of thesteam generator 14 has a single tube structure, even if a large-scalewater leakage by the breakdown of heating tube occurs in a liquid metaland a heavy metal such as lead, lead bismuth or the like contacts withwater, there is no of generation of reaction product, and a steam bubbleis transferred from the leakage portion to the surroundings. In thiscase, a specific gravity of heavy metal is about ten times as much aswater; therefore, most of gas is transferred upwardly from the leakageportion, and then, is transferred to the cover gas space of the steamgenerator 14. If the gas is transferred downwardly, the gas istransferred to the upward cover gas space via the liquid surface of thespace between the intermediate shell 25 and the outer shell 24 and thespace between the outer shell 24 and the reactor vessel 9. In this case,the opening portion 44 of the inner shell 23 of the steam generator 14operates so that the cover gas space 45 of the reactor vessel 9communicates with the cover gas space of the steam generator 14.Therefore, a water vapor or bubble of reaction product by a large-scalewater leakage generated in the liquid metal is all guided to the covergas space 45 of the reactor vessel 9, whereby, even if a large-scalewater leakage occurs in the heating tube of the steam generator, it ispossible to maintain a safety of the reactor without mixing the bubbleinto the core 2.

Fifth Embodiment (FIG. 19 to FIG. 21)

With reference to FIG. 19A, FIG. 19B, FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, a liquidmetal cooled reactor according to the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention is a fast reactor 1F corresponding to the liquid metal cooledreactor 1 according to the first embodiment, and the fast reactor 1F hassubstantially the same structure of the reactor 1 except for the core2A.

Therefore, only the structure and operation of the reactor core 2A aredescribed hereinafter, and other elements of the fast reactor 1F areassigned to the same numerals of the reactor 1 so that the descriptionsof the elements and the operations thereof are omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 19A and 19A, the core 2A is composed of nuclear fuelassemblies 116 which are arranged to be formed into a substantiallycylindrical shape and a reactivity control assembly 119 arranged at acenter portion of the fuel assemblies 116 and adapted to control thereactivity of the core 2A.

In this fifth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19, each of the fuelassemblies 116 has a hexagonal shape in its lateral cross section andthe core 2A has a diameter with approximately 80 cm and an effectivelength thereof with approximately 200 cm.

The neutron reflector 4 outside the core 2A is composed of a structuralmember such as stainless steel (SUS) or graphite including a cover gasspace, and has a longitudinal length of approximately 200 cm and athickness of about 15 cm.

Incidentally, these measurements of the core 2A are one example of thecore 2A.

The partition wall 6 is arranged outside the neutron reflector 4, andthe neutron shield 21 is arranged outside the partition wall 6, andfurther, the reactor vessel 9 is arranged outside the neutron shield 21,as described in the first embodiment of the present invention.

The reactivity control assembly 119 is mounted at the center portion ofthe core 2A (the fuel assemblies 116).

The reactivity control assembly 119 contains a mixture made by mixingneutron moderator, for example, zirconium hydride and neutron absorber,for example gadolinium.

The reactivity control assembly 119 comprises, as shown in FIG. 20, awrapper tube 120 with a hexagonal shape in its lateral cross section,and a plurality of neutron absorber rods 123, for example, seven neutronabsorber rods 123 assembled to be contained therein. Each of the neutronabsorber rods 123 has a cladding tube 121 and a mixture 122 which isproduced by mixing a neutron moderator and a neutron absorber and isfilled therein.

The volume percent ratio of the neutron moderator and the neutronabsorber in the mixture 122 is X to Y, wherein the X percent is biggerthan the Y percent.

The cladding tube 121 is made of a structural material such as astainless steel or the like, and the mixture 122 of the neutronmoderator and the neutron absorber is a mixture of zirconium hydride andgadolinium. As the gadolinium, Gd-157, Gd-155 or other similar materialare able to be used.

The reactivity control assembly 119, in addition to the functions forabsorbing and moderating neutrons irradiated from the fuel assemblies116, is served as a shutdown rod for a shutdown of the core 2A, andhowever, the reactivity control assembly 119 is not drawn out from thecore 2A in the operation thereof, which is different from a shutdown rodof the conventional core.

Next, the following is a description on an operation of the fifthembodiment.

FIG. 21 shows various reactivity changes in the operating period (theburn-up period) of the core 2A with respect to the final state thereofshown in FIG. 19. In FIG. 21, there are shown a combustion reactivitychange “a” of the fuel assembly 116, a value change “b” of the neutronreflector 4, and a reactivity change “c” of the reactivity controlassembly 119.

According to FIG. 21, the fuel assembly 116 burned for 30 years has agreat excess reactivity change; for this reason, the value change of theneutron reflector 4 can not cancel the excess reactivity of the initialfuel (fuel assembly 116).

Therefore, in the case of a core having the burn-up reactivity as shownin FIG. 21 and a long lifetime of 30 years, neutron doubling is toogreat in the initial core even if the reactivity of the core iscontrolled by only the neutron reflector 4 so that no operation of thereactor 1F is performed.

That is, the initial structure of the core greatly exceeds acriticality.

On the contrary, in the fifth embodiment, the reactivity controlassembly 119 having a function for absorbing a neutron, for example,gadolinium is contained into the core 2A so that the excessive neutronsirradiated from the core 2A are absorbed in the gadolinium in thereactivity control assembly 119, whereby the initial excess reactivityof the fuel assembly 116 is cancelled, as shown in FIG. 20.

In addition, the gadolinium in the reactivity control assembly 119 isburned to be reduced so that a burn-up reactivity of the fuel is reducedwhile a reactivity of the reactivity control assembly 119 itself isreduced. Therefore, it is possible to perform a control of burn-up ofthe core 2A for a long lifetime by a combination of the reactivitychange of the neutron reflector 4 by the control of the neutronreflector 4 and the reactivity change of the reactivity control assembly119.

That is, the core 2A of the reactor 1F operates so that the excessreactivity of the fuel (fuel assembly 116) substantially equals to thesum of the negative reactivity by the neutron reflector 4 and that bythe reactivity control assembly 119, whereby the excess reactivity iscancelled by the sum of the negative reactivity by the neutron reflector4 and the reactivity control assembly 119 so as to keep critical thestate of the core 2A

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the reactivity control assembly 119 inthe core 2A of the fast reactor 1F comprises zirconium hydride used asthe neutron moderator mixed with the gadolinium used as the neutronabsorber so that it is possible to effectively moderate and absorb theneutrons in the core 2A.

Especially, in this embodiment, it is possible to use the reactivitycontrol assembly 119 to the fast reactor in which neutrons in the core2A have high energy of 1.00 E+05 (eV), whereas, conventionally, it ishard to use the reactivity control assembly to the fast reactor.

That is, FIG. 22 is a view illustrating a neutron absorption crosssection of Gd-157, and that of Gd-158.

According to FIG. 22, a light water reactor operates in a thermal regionwherein the neutrons in the core are thermal neutrons having the energyof, for example, 1.00 E-02 (eV). Therefore, when the gadolinium ofGd-157 absorbs the neutrons in the core so as to get to be thegadolinium of Gd-158, because the absorption of the Gd-158 is stronglysmaller than that of the Gd-157, the Gd-158 is burned so that it isunnecessary to draw the Gd-158.

However, a fast reactor operates wherein the neutrons in the core arehigh spectrum neutrons having the energy of, for example, 1.00 E+05(eV). Therefore, in a case of containing the gadolinium of Gd-157 in thecore of the fast reactor, when the gadolinium of Gd-157 absorbs theneutrons in the core so as to get to be the gadolinium of Gd-158,because the absorption of the Gd-158 is substantially as well as that ofthe Gd-157, the Gd-158 is hardly burned so that it must be necessary todraw the Gd-158, whereby, conventionally, it may be hard to use thegadolinium of Gd-157 to the fast reactor.

However, in this fifth embodiment of the present invention, because thecore 2A containing the reactivity control assembly 119 including, inaddition to the gadolinium, the neutron moderator, it is able tomoderate the neutrons in the core 2A so as to correspond to those in awater reactor, making it possible to use the reactivity control assembly119 to the fast reactor 1F.

Sixth Embodiment (FIG. 23)

Next, with reference to FIG. 23, a fast reactor 1G according to a sixthembodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 23 shows principal parts of the fast reactor 1G in this sixthembodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 19A. In FIG. 23, for simplificationof explanation, like reference numerals are used to designate the sameparts as FIG. 19A. The fast reactor 1G of the sixth embodiment isdifferent from the fast reactor 1F of the above fifth embodiment in thata neutron absorber 124 with a neutron moderator is provided above theneutron reflector 4. The neutron absorber 124 with the neutron moderatorincludes a material produced by mixing a neutron moderator and a neutronabsorber.

Conventionally, the upper portion of the neutron reflector 4 is formedinto a cavity in order to improve its value. In this sixth embodiment,the neutron absorber 124 with the neutron moderator is mounted into thecavity.

According to the structure, in addition to the effect of the fifthembodiment, because the neutrons irradiated from the core 2A ismoderated to be absorbed in the neutron absorber 124, it is possible togive a neutron shielding function to the reactor 1G, and to simplify theupper structure of the reactor 1G.

Seventh Embodiment

Next, a fast reactor according to a seventh embodiment of the presentinvention will be described below.

According to this seventh embodiment, the reactivity control assemblyhas the structure in that the distribution of the neutron moderator inthe diametrical direction of the cladding tube 121 is gradually densetoward an inside of the cladding tube 121.

The fast reactor of the seventh embodiment has almost the same effectsas the fifth embodiment. Besides, according to the fast reactor of thisseventh embodiment, it is possible to prevent a reduction of the initialneutron absorption effect, and to provide a linear reduction of thereactivity. Therefore, according to this seventh embodiment, thereactivity is linear, and the excess reactivity change by the burn-up islinear in appearance. Therefore, it is possible to linearly carry outthe burn-up control by the operation of the neutron reflector 4, andthus, to carry out the operation of the neutron reflector 4 at anapproximately constant speed, thereby readily performing the burn-upcontrol.

Eighth Embodiment

Next, a fast reactor according to an eighth embodiment of the presentinvention will be described below.

According to this eighth embodiment, the mixture 122 in the claddingtube 121 of the reactivity control assembly 119 is formed so that theneutron moderator and the neutron absorber are mixed to be filed in thecladding tube 121, and, in this embodiment, as the neutron moderator,graphite is used. The eighth embodiment has almost the same effects asthe fifth embodiment. Besides, because of using the graphite as theneutron moderator, it is possible to improve the safety of the fastreactor under the condition of high temperature, to increase theflexibility of designing the fast reactor and to correspond to the fastreactor wherein a coolant outlet temperature thereof is made high.

Ninth Embodiment

Next, a fast reactor according to a ninth embodiment of the presentinvention will be described below.

In this ninth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20 in the fifth embodiment,the neutron absorber rod 123 is produced by mounting, as the mixture122, the neutron moderator and the neutron absorber into the claddingtube 121 by a vibration compaction process.

More specifically, in the case of mixing zirconium hydride andgadolinium as the mixture 122 of the neutron moderator and the neutronabsorber, both zirconium hydride and gadolinium are weighted by apredetermined amount, and thereafter, are molded like granules. Thesegranules are gradually put from a top opening portion of the claddingtube 121 whose bottom end is sealed, to be filled therein, whilevibration is applied to the cladding tube 121 by a vibrator. Aftervibration filling, an upper plug is attached onto the top openingportion of the cladding tube 121 to be sealed thereto, and thus, theneutron absorber rod 123 is completed. In this case, the cladding tube121 is attached on a vibration base of the vibrator, and then, apredetermined vibration is applied the cladding tube 121 thereby.

According to this eighth embodiment, it is possible to simplify aprocess for forming the neutron absorber rod 123 containing the neutronmoderator, and to carry out a remote control in forming of the neutronabsorber rod 123. Furthermore, even in the case where the neutronmoderator or the neutron absorber is a dangerous material such as aradioactive material, the neutron absorber rod 123 can be readilyformed.

Tenth Embodiment

Next, a fast reactor according to a tenth embodiment of the presentinvention will be described below.

In this tenth embodiment, the cladding tube 121 or the wrapper tube 120shown in FIG. 20 in the fifth embodiment is provided at its innersurface with an inside coat for preventing hydrogen from beingtransmitted, for example, a chromium coating layer. The chromium coatinglayer contacts with the mixture 122 of the neutron moderator and theneutron absorber, for example, the mixture of zirconium hydride andgadolinium.

According to this tenth embodiment, the reactivity control assembly 119is provided at its inner surface with the inside coat for preventinghydrogen from being transmitted, and then, the reactivity controlassembly 119 is mounted into the center portion of the core 2A as shownin FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B. According to the structure, it is possible toprevent hydrogen generated by the burn-up in the core 2A from leakingoutside the reactivity control assembly 119. Other effects are the sameas the above fifth embodiment.

Eleventh Embodiment

Next, a fast reactor according to an eleventh embodiment of the presentinvention will be described below.

In this eleventh embodiment, in order to improve a neutron absorptivepower of the reactivity control assembly 119, the neutron absorber rod123 is formed with the mixture 122 made by mixing a fission product (FP)as a neutron absorber and a zirconium hydride as a neutron moderator,and the neutron absorber rod 123 is mounted in the core 2A.

According to this eleventh embodiment, the fission product (FP) is usedas the neutron absorber, and thereby, it is possible to effectively usea radioactive material generated by another reactor, and thus, tocontribute for a reduction of fission products. Other effects are thesame as the fifth embodiment.

Twelfth Embodiment

Next, a fast reactor according to a twelfth embodiment of the presentinvention will be described below.

In this twelfth embodiment, a mixture 122 of the neutron moderator and athermal neutron absorber, for example, zirconium hydride and gadoliniumin the fifth embodiment, is filled in the fuel assembly 116 at thevicinity of the central portion of the core, and thereby improving aneutron absorptive power.

According to this twelfth embodiment, the fuel assembly 116 is providedwith the mixture of the neutron moderator and a thermal neutronabsorber, and thereby, there is no need of mounting the reactivitycontrol assembly 119 in the central portion of the core. Further, thisserves to readily make a design of the neutron absorber rod mounted inthe center of the core or a neutron absorptive channel.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, the mixture 122 is filled in the fuelassembly 116 in the vicinity of the central portion of the core.However, the present invention is not limited to the structure. That is,the neutron absorber may be filled in one of the fuel assemblies 116 inthe vicinity of the central portion of the core, and the neutronmoderator may be filled in another one of the fuel assembles 116 whichis also in the vicinity of the central portion thereof.

Thirteenth Embodiment

Next, a fast reactor according to a thirteenth embodiment of the presentinvention will be described below.

In this thirteenth embodiment, in each of the aforesaid fast reactors, amixture of a neutron moderator and a neutron absorber, for example,zirconium hydride and gadolinium, is provided in a burnable poisonassembly at the central portion of the core, and thereby, a voidreactivity of the final burn-up is transferred to a positive side. Thereflector control type of fast reactor of this embodiment has the samefunction as the fifth embodiment.

In general, in the fast reactor, with the burn-up of the core, a voidreactivity rises to a positive side. This means that in the finalburn-up, the positive reactivity is increased by spectral hardening inthe case where void is generated.

However, as this embodiment, in the case of the fast reactor, which isprovided with the neutron absorber rod with the neutron moderator, inthe final burn-up, an absorptive effect is reduced in a small neutronenergy range. For this reason, in the final burn-up, the burn-up tofission is great in a low neutron energy range as compared with ageneral fast reactor.

As a result, in the final burn-up, no transfer to a positive reactivityis made with respect to spectral hardening by coolant void generation.Therefore, in the final burn-up, the void reactivity is hard to betransferred to the positive side, and therefore, it is possible toimprove safety of the fast reactor.

Fourteenth Embodiment

Next, a fast reactor according to a fourteenth embodiment of the presentinvention will be described below.

In this fourteenth embodiment, lead or lead-bismuth alloy is used inplace of sodium used as the liquid metal coolant in the fifthembodiment. Other construction is the same as the fifth embodiment.

According to this fifteenth embodiment, a fast neutron is moderated soas to be absorbed in the neutron absorber, and thereby, it is possibleto improve a neutron absorptive power, and to provide a fast reactorwhich has a high neutron breeding ratio, thereby elongating a lifetimeof the core.

Fifteenth Embodiment

In this embodiment, the volume percent ratios of the neutron moderatorand the neutron absorber in the neutron absorber rod 123 in thereactivity control assembly 119 mounted in the core 2A are not uniformedbut different according to different positions in the axial direction ofthe core 2A.

That is, the volume percent ratio of a predetermined portion of themixture 122 in the neutron absorber rod 123 of the reactivity controlassembly 119, which has a height in the axial direction thereofcorresponding to the height H1 of the core 2A, is X1 to Y1, wherein theX1 percent is bigger than the Y1 percent, and the volume percent ratioof another predetermined portion of the mixture 122 in the neutronabsorber rod 123 of the reactivity control assembly 119, which has aheight in the axial direction thereof corresponding to the height H2 ofthe plenum is X2 to Y2, wherein the X2 percent is bigger than the Y2percent, and the X1 percent and the Y1 percent are bigger than the X2percent and the Y2 percent, respectively.

Incidentally, in the above embodiments, the primary coolant, such as theliquid metal is circulated by means of the electromagnetic pump, but thepresent invention is not limited to the structure.

That is, the electromagnetic pump is omitted in each reactor in eachembodiment of the present invention, and the primary coolant iscirculated by a natural circulating force generated by, for example, theheating of the core, the radiation from the reactor vessel and the like.

In this modification, it is further possible to reduce the cost ofmanufacturing the reactor, and because of no use of the electromagneticpump, it is possible to improve the safety of each reactor in thepresent invention.

Furthermore, in the fifth embodiment to the fifteenth embodiment of thepresent invention, as a nuclear reactor, the liquid metal cooled type offast reactor is applied, but the present invention is not limited to thestructure.

That is, in the fifth embodiment to the fifteenth embodiment, as anuclear reactor, a light water reactor is able to be applied to thepresent invention, which has the described system for cooling the core,and furthermore, other nuclear reactors can be applied to the presentinvention.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be thepreferred embodiments and modifications of the present invention, itwill be understood that various modifications which are not describedyet may be made therein, and it is intended to cover in the appendedclaims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scopeof the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A reactor core immersed in a liquid metalcoolant in a core barrel of a liquid metal cooled reactor, the reactorcore comprising: a plurality of fuel assemblies contained in the corebarrel; a neutron absorber that absorbs a neutron in the reactor core;and a neutron moderator that moderates a neutron therein so as tocontrol a reactivity of the reactor core, the neutron absorber and theneutron moderator constituting a mixture contained in reactivity controlassemblies of the reactor core in the liquid metal coolant prior toimmersion of the reactor core, and the neutron moderator being composedof zirconium hydride.
 2. The reactor core according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a reactivity control assembly arranged at a predeterminedportion in the fuel assemblies, said reactivity control assembly havinga tube portion; and a neutron absorber rod assembly contained in thetube portion and having the mixture made of the neutron absorber and theneutron moderator, wherein said neutron absorber rod assembly has aplurality of neutron absorber rods each having a cladding tube and themixture filled therein, said mixture is made of the neutron absorber andthe neutron moderator, said absorber rod assembly is arranged at acenter portion of the fuel assemblies, said neutron absorber and theneutron moderator is mixed according to a volume percent ratio, saidvolume percent ratio of the neutron moderator and the neutron absorberis X to Y, said X percent being bigger than the Y percent, and saidvolume percent ratios of the neutron moderator and the neutron absorberin the neutron absorber rod in the axial direction are differentaccording to different positions in the axial direction of the core.